Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra XUV500 & premium SUVs likely to be banned in Delhi

All taxis and cabs will have to start using CNG by March 31, 2016 and no garbage should be burnt in the NCR, the court ruled.

Emissions from diesels has been linked with unsafe levels of pollution in European cities like London, Paris and Turin, but the blanket ban has already been described as an overreaction by government critcs.

The court also raised the green cess by 100 percent which is now being levied on commercial vehicles entering Delhi.

However, empty commercial vehicles in both categories would continue to pay the old ECC of Rs. 700 and Rs.1,300 respectively.

Mercedes-Benz India said in a statement, “This ban on diesel engines also creates an environment of uncertainty and will severely impact our expansion plans and future investments put in place for the Indian market”.

The order is separate from an environmental court’s decision last week to halt the sale of new diesel-powered vehicles temporarily and comes as the Delhi state government prepares to restrict the number of cars on its roads next month on an experimental basis.

Successive Delhi governments have been criticised for failing to curb pollution in the city of 17 million, ranked as having the worst air quality of any capital by the World Health Organisation.

The court said its order overrides all the other orders passed by other forums, including the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that had recently banned the registration of all diesel vehicles for up to four weeks in the capital. Supreme Court’s Wednesday ruling may have come as a step in the right direction to cleaning Delhi’s toxic air but many auto manufacturers continue looking at dismal sales figures. “Why do you let the opportunity go?”, the court said, NDTV reported.

It also asked Central Pollution Control Board and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to strictly enforce NGT guidelines at construction sites. For a day 1,400 diesel vehicles gets registered and 30 pct of these being strapped with engines of 2000 cc and above.

“If a similar matter is there in Supreme Court, it would be improper on our part to say anything”, the bench said.